Statement from a Group of Professors at Arak Industrial University: Stop Burning Mazut at Shazand Power Plant

A group of professors from Arak Industrial University called for the cessation of mazut burning at the Shazand thermal power plant in Markazi Province in a statement issued on Saturday, December 16. According to ISNA news agency, the signatories of the statement pointed out that power plants are not permitted to burn mazut to compensate for fuel shortages under the Clean Air Law ratified in 2017, and urged the authorities in Markazi Province to stop the use of this fuel at the Shazand power plant. The statement warned of a 'serious risk' to the health of over one million citizens in the cities of Arak and Shazand due to mazut burning at the Shazand power plant. In part of the statement, the professors expressed their readiness to provide solutions such as desulfurization of mazut, gas storage, and designing power plants that generate electricity from renewable sources. Meanwhile, the Director General of Environmental Protection in Markazi Province announced that 50 out of 72 burners at the Shazand thermal power plant operate with mazut. According to Youssef Yousofi, mazut burning at this power plant began on December 11, and currently, four million liters of mazut are consumed daily at this facility. Recently, several media activists have also reported on this issue. Zeynab Rahimi, an environmental journalist, wrote on X (formerly Twitter): 'The head of the Environmental Organization does not want to visit the Shazand power plant because they are burning mazut.' According to Daryush Golalizadeh, an official from the Environmental Organization, air pollution last year caused the deaths of 26,000 people in Iran and resulted in damages amounting to over $11 billion. Roozbeh Eskandari, an environmental expert, described the intensification of air pollution in Iran, especially in metropolitan areas, as a result of widespread mazut burning and the failure to implement the 'Clean Air Law.'